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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. bark — to shout
  4. file — a line of people
  5. court — of a king
  6. file — a document
  7. chip — for betting
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. file — a tool
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. wound — an injury
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of law
  18. hide — to keep secret

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com